As we've said in our last update: Responsive websites are key to your success going further. Our client in Cincinnati, Mark Williams Auto Group, just recently made the switch!

Having a responsive website means that it will adapt itself to fit perfectly on any type of device. Whether you're on a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop, a responsive site will look great. It makes the user experience better and even Google will reward you for having this type of design. Their new algorithms favor responsive websites because over 50% of searches are coming from mobile devices.

So, how do we make this possible for our clients? We partner with the number one automotive website provider in the US - Dealer E-Process. They are based out of Chicago, IL, and they provide a website that is different from any other. Their site designs allow for much more customization than you will ever get from any manufacturer website. Thus, their design stands out from that boring sea of Dealer.com, CDK Global, and Ford Direct websites that are flooding the customer's screens.

Your website is likely the first thing people see now-a-days. If it looks the same as the rest of the dealers in your area, there is nothing urging them to click yours versus someone else's. If you're curious, do an audit of your current dealership's website by opening yours side-by-side with your top five competitor's websites. Do they all look the same? Does one draw you in more than the others? It should be interesting and eye-opening in some cases for some dealers. Bottom line you will benefit from a website that stands out and is responsive.

Let's take a look at how the Mark Williams Auto Group websites improved from when they used Ford Direct, CDK Global and Dealer.com to their four new Dealer E-Process sites.

First of all, Beechmont Ford had utilized the manufacturers website, Ford Direct. There are MANY Ford Dealers around the country that think this site is good enough for them. However, if all Ford Dealers have a Direct website, then they will all just blend in with each other. Ford automatically gives every dealership one of these sites, but dealers have the option to create their own site in order to differentiate themselves from the competition. That's exactly what Beechmont Ford has chosen to do. You can see the difference in both the desktop and mobile home pages. The old ones weren't actually terrible, but you should still be able to see how the Dealer E-Process websites are miles ahead of manufacturer sites.

Secondly we have Mt Orab Ford's before and after pictures. Mt Orab had previously used CDK Global, and out of the three we have represented here, they are the least customizable. When creating landing pages you only have the option for one font size, about nine unchangeable layouts and only certain widgets. Their Dealer E-Process sites — mobile and desktop — both look one million times better than before.

Finally we have their Peebles Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealer's new site. They switched from a Dealer.com site that was putting them under all sorts of restrictions. You can see that the buttons don't appear very well on mobile and there are large gaps in the page. You can see a huge difference from before to after on this particular site.

As their creative agency, we are extremely excited to see what we can do with the new sites. We were basically locked in a creative box in terms of what we could customize on their old sites. Now there are virtually no limits to what we can do, and that makes our minds race as marketers. They even added another site for their entire group: http://www.markwilliamsautogroup.com. We think beyond the fact that it looks great, it provides enormous functionality that they never had before. Now anyone can visit their group site and view their entire group's inventory, navigate between their dealership sites and more!

If you want to explore the idea of revamping your website and other digital media related entities such as your social media pages, graphic design banners and paid search results, then give iFrog Digital Marketing a call. You'll be glad you did.